1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to information dissemination systems, and particularly to interactive transportation information systems wherein users communicate with a database over conventional telephone lines.
2. Prior Art
It is the nature of many businesses that they occasion numerous telephone inquiries from customers and potential customers. Obviously, if each call is answered by an operator, a sufficient number of operators must be available to field the calls as they come in. The expense of doing so is obvious. Moreover, almost invariably there are peak times when the number of callers exceeds the number of operators. When this happens, incoming calls must be queued. Depending on the size of the imbalance between incoming calls and operators, the queue can become quite long, with the consequence that callers become frustrated, sometimes to the point where they hang up, possibly never to call again. The potential loss of business is apparent.
A further problem with operators is the variation in their speech. Operators with accents, poor diction, etc., can be unintelligible to some callers. At the very least, the problem can reduce efficiency by prolonging the conversation between the caller and the operator. Again, the added expense and potential for lost business is obvious.
Recognizing these problems, others have proposed interactive information systems wherein a caller accesses a prerecorded message. A simple example of such a system is one for informing the caller of the correct time or weather conditions. More sophisticated systems provide selective information to the caller. For example, in known telephone information systems, the caller initially accesses an operator who enters the caller's request into a computerized information retrieval system which then provides the phone number to the caller in the form of a prerecorded message. Also known are systems wherein the caller directly queries a database by depressing the appropriate buttons on a Touch-Tone type phone in response to prompts from the database. Typically the prompts are prerecorded messages, collectively known as dialogue, asking the caller to depress one of a plurality of buttons depending on the information requested. By responding to a series of such prompts, the caller is able to obtain highly specific information from the database without operator intervention. Such systems are used, for example, to provide stock quotes and brokerage account information. In the case of account information, it is obvious that the appropriate information in the database is uniquely identifiable by entering the client account number by depressing the appropriate buttons on a Touch-Tone telephone. On the other hand, in the case of stock quotes, for the caller to access the appropriate information in the database, the caller must first identify the specific stock name to the database. This, however, poses a problem, because each of the buttons 2 through 9 has three letters imprinted thereon. Consequently, if the caller identifies the stock by entering the stock name, or the first few letters thereof, there is a strong possibility of ambiguity, i.e. the sequence of buttons depressed for two different stocks may be the same, rendering it impossible for the system to distinguish between the two. Consequently, in known systems wherein the database stores information for a large number of stocks or the like, the user is provided with a reference card which assigns to each stock a unique number code which the user then enters on the keypad of the phone when information is desired for that stock. Of course, this is extremely inconvenient, as the caller must have the card available at all times. Furthermore, it is impractical for certain types of systems, such as transit information systems, where many callers may not be regular users of the system and hence will not have access to a reference card.
In interactive transit information systems, it is also important to keep the call time to a minimum without sacrificing accuracy. If calls are lengthy, the system is tied up too long with each call. Also, it leads to caller frustration. Consequently, it is highly desirable to keep the length of the dialogue with the caller to a minimum. This problem presents itself, for example, when a caller is required to enter an arrival or departure time. That is, it is desirable that the caller be able to enter a complete time, e.g. 1:15, in response to a single prompt. However, this presents ambiguity problems, e.g. the caller may have intended to enter 11:50. While the system can look for pauses of predetermined length as confirmation that the complete time has been entered, this slows the system. And if the pause time is too short, the number of incorrect time entries increases. If, instead, the caller enters the hour in response to a first prompt and the minutes in response to a second, the goal of shortening the call time is also defeated.
Also, for transit information systems to be effective, it is important that the system anticipate all possible caller responses. Otherwise, a significant number of callers may become disaffected and avoid the system, thereby defeating its function. Similarly, the system, once installed, must be easy to maintain and update, lest the system operator abandon the system due to undue complexity. Finally, it is also important that the system be capable of handling a large number of calls simultaneously, so that callers are not queued or constantly confronted with a busy signal.
In addition, it is important for the operator of an interactive transit information system to have the ability to update information in the system. For example, in the case of delays due to snow, fire, etc., it is desirable for the system operator to include emergency message information in the system on short notice, which information is then conveyed to all persons calling the system.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an interactive transit information system which achieves the above-mentioned objectives.